Blog

Bridget Willard

What is real friendship?

I started thinking about friendship the other day. People often tease me about my “internet” friends or “digital” friends.

Are they less than?

To explore this topic, let’s go to the beginning.

Childhood Friendships

In early childhood, you may have friends because your moms hang out. You may be in the same class. You may live on the same street.

Proximity and convenience are the the kick starters to most, if not all, childhood friendships. Whether or not they continue throughout life has more to do with how each person values themselves, their time invested in the friendship, and the time it would take to continue. We grow up, move away, and move on.

Fortunately, Facebook has allowed many of these childhood friendships to reignite or die of malnutrition.

Digital Age

Let’s come back.

Early Adult Friendships

Early adult friendships begin because you’re college roommates, co-workers, or you know a friend-of-a-friend. Maybe a group all went to a music festival, camping trip, or toured Europe together. Those friendships usually continue until some or all get married. (more…)

November 7, 2014
Social Networks are Like Purses

You can’t really buy a purse for someone else now can you?

Are you going for a night out?
Do you change your purse with every outfit?
Should it be big or small or have a zipper?

Choosing a network or networks is a personal decision. How much time will you spend to learn the site, post content, and engage with your audience?

Guru Minute Video: http://youtu.be/iaQEjOGby6Q

I mean, if you have the time to change your purse to match every outfit, you go with your bad self.

This would be akin to being present on multiple social networks.

Some of us choose to spend our time online. So to be on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google Plus, and YouTube is no big thing.

If you just want to pick up your purse and leave the house, this may not be an option for you.

So now you have to choose.

Do you need space? Maybe Facebook is the right network for you. It has a larger audience and global footprint.

If you want less in your purse, maybe a clutch fits your style better than a messenger bag. After all, it is less burdensome and more fashionable. That’d be Twitter, in my opinion.

It doesn’t really matter what you think is cool now. In 90 days to 2 years [insert new cool hip social network here] will come about and be the “new thing.” Or it could go the way of Myspace, Wave, and maybe Ello.

As social media nerds we’re looked to often as “experts.” But we all have our own opinions based upon our own needs and experiences.

We all have our own cache of purses.

Which will you choose? We can’t choose for you.

October 29, 2014
Curate Content by Curating People

How do you curate content to share online? You do it by curating people. Be a people broker.
Is your Twitter feed worth reading by you?

Would you like your own Facebook Page?

Let me tell you a story.

Let’s go back to the summer of 2004 when my sister and her friends came to visit me here in Southern California. They were curious about the Southern California lifestyle.

“Where do you want to eat?”

“Anywhere but a chain,” they said.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with the Cheesecake Factory or Pizza Hut, but they’re the same here as they are in Northern California, that’s the point of a chain. They wanted local flavor.

“What about Wahoo’s?” I asked. “It’s a local chain.”

That phrase “local chain” got them curious. So we went to Wahoo’s who started here in Orange County in 1988 and they loved it. They had a great meal and got to experience part of Orange County’s local culture.

Fringe Players

Chris Brogan, in a Women in Business Today video said:

“All of the experts… we all see it all. … If …300,000 people are tweeting Mashable. Who cares? You know what? Go find interesting fringe players that no one’s ever heard of and treat them like they’re the experts. You’ll have more fun.”

Curation Tools

Now, I’ve talked about being a people curator before, so if you’ve followed quality people, why not use that to your benefit?

You don’t need a third party tool to tell you what to tweet. You’re better than just another account that tweets Mashable, BuzzFeed, or TechCrunch.

Don’t get me wrong, you’ll see Gary Vaynerchuk, Ted Rubin, Mashable, and other well-known people in my tweets. But you’ll also read from Carol Stephen, Ruby Rusine, and Amy Donohue.

I’ve found some of my own gems, “local flavor,” or “fringe players” as Chris Brogan calls them. They’re on my “Social Friends” list on Twitter. I know, if I want reliable content to share, I can go right there. I don’t need some fancy tool to curate content other than my own Twitter lists.

Win-Win-Win

When you curate people and share their content, it shows that you’re a social person. It shows that you reciprocate. It helps promote your new connections. Your audience benefits from another perspective and a local flavor.

That’s a win — times three.

Content curation is as simple as curating people.

October 10, 2014